Manel Kape fight week...

Will we ever get more Wushu Watch 🙏

Basic question but any tips or guidance for getting started with writing.

Why are there no other big submissions from the back besides the RNC? It feels like there should at least be something like an Americana/Key lock or Kimura or Chickenwing but somehow the only other sub we see is an occasional armbar that gives up position

What do you think is the least utilized technique that has function in MMA? I think the full Nelson being banned in every other martial art has created a blind spot for it in MMA. I know Aljo used it against Cody Stamann... and that's all I can think of. I'm sure a 20 minute video could be made of fighters falling off the back because of jiu jitsu style back takes. P.S. do you want us to prompt our questions with "Asking this again" if we asked last week?

You recently talked about how interesting it would be if grounded knees were legal again. How do you think it would change the meta? Right now two of the primary ways to get up from bottom are wrestling up on the single leg, and wall walking to turn and peel the hands. We saw DJ get KO'd in ONE with a knee as he went to underhook getup, and I feel that posturing up and throwing knees as a guy wall walks would be devastating. What other ways do you think grounded knees would effect the choices and technical developments in MMA?

You think there will ever be a banger apex card or am i just hoping for to much?

Morning from australia Your interest in sifu is well documented, but i was wondering if youve ever played or heard of Sleeping Dogs? While not a very similar game it still draws heavily from the martial arts icons like enter the dragon and jackie chan, and is quite fun. Sergei pav fistically transferring his excitement to waldo, bless.

Can you talk about the different striking guards and how they work in mma vs boxing vs Muay Thai ect. We’ve seen petr Yan use the long guard will good success. Just want you to ramble on about that for a bit. Big fan of your work :)

Whats the craic Jack I'm interested in philosophy and martial arts Have the two ever crossed over for you in your years of training and study? Not talking about zen and the art of war, book of five rings etc More like Daniele Bolelli's on the warriors path or listening to the likes of Danaher, Dan Hardy and Ryan Hall wax lyrically on a long podcast. Thanks for the content ya gorgeous bastrad

Do you believe there is a benefit for fighters to attack their opponents joints with elbows and knees while grappling, such as elbowing their shoulder to cause swelling and reduce hand speed or knee dropping onto their ankle to slow footwork? What are some ways fighters can stay active and do damage, besides knees to the thigh, while smudging their opponents against the cage for control time?

Hry Jack, everyone talks about techniques alot, but any do you have any general concepts for grappling and striking? eg. Inside position tends to be dominant in grappling exchanges

Hello Jack! I've heard you make mention of fighting games many times and wanted to ask if you see any link between improving at one helping you improve at the other? I teach some striking sessions at my gym and have recently used fighting game lingo to help explain abstract concepts like conditioning the opponents expectations, mix-ups (e.g., ensuring a switch looks identical leading into a low-mid-high kick or step through to punch), and making educated reads on someone's intention. This seems to actually help some folks digest these concepts and apply them, particularly the younger crowd. Funnily, I have found that the reverse was true for me, and that after I began training years ago, I got significantly better at my chosen fighting games. What are your thoughts Papa Slack? The Kai Kara-France of using my heart to dance. Bless.

Hey Jack, who are the people you think I should follow and consume content of for keeping up with the competition BJJ Meta / strategies? I’m getting back into competitive BJJ and right now I’m trying to play K guard but I flow into different leg locks and positions more on vibes then knowing how each position connects to eachother, who would you recommend for strong K guard system concepts and what do you think of K guard overall? Who do you look to for top control concepts and who do you watch for guard concepts?

Hey Jack, amidst all the commentary garbage on Saturday, during the 3rd round in the Barber-Silva fight they mentioned something called a “dead archer.” Was wondering if you could break that down and if it has any practical application? Cheers

I can watch bjj instructionals at work, but obviously I can’t practice the moves with a training partner at work. What’s worked best for you as far as incorporating what you’ve learned in front of the laptop when you’re in the gym, trying it out while sparring, or using your open mat time to get someone to drill it with you from memory?

What are some principles for building up volume and attrition on people? Do you have any "rules" for volume because I find i just try to throw long combos and get countered

How are your opinions on a fighters legacy affected by their use of fouls? For example Jon Jones. Even ignoring his out of cage actions and ped use I have to look at a lot of his wins with asterisks due to the eyepoki g and how it causes the other fighters to engage less and forces them to try to work around a weapon that isn't even technically allowed. I know it's difficult to look at every fight of every guy's career, but I feel repeated fouling is barely looked at as a genuine reason to question wins

White belt in the Gi. I find when I roll with even other white belts with more stripes they just have a submission from every position possible on me. Is knowing these and how to defend them just a matter of studying (watching your film rooms 😀) or is it a case of understanding positions and attacks which will come to me the more I train?

Would you consider Petr Yan for game plan of the year after that performance?

As a representative of mr. timestamps guy and 9hs621 (im in a discord group where I talk to both). What should Zhang Weili do after her pretty embarassing performance at UFC 312? -Should she stay at flyweight -Go to her original weight class similiar to what Adesanya did after he fought Błachowicz (though her fighting Dern would not be that interesting or would it?) -the more extreme option - retire and have all the people angry at her get even more angry. If she did that, would her career be hard to rate like Henry Cejudo? It really was unfortunate she couldn't pull it off against Val (not Dewar). I always look forward to the only wmma fighter holding up the Slacky logo or shouting you out after wins.

Either you have to help Bryce Mitchell study for a high school science test, but if he gets at least an 80% more fighters will start hooking to the body off the jab. Or you get to work color commentary on any/every event you want, but your commentary team partners are Sean Strickland and Juliana Pena. Which way, Slacky Boy?

Mr. Slack, What are the main differences between being a good coach and being a good analyst? There is a lot of crossover between the two, but what are the key differences? Also, what are at least two reasons why you’re doing this, instead of that? Thanks.

Why is it that, hypothetically speaking, if somebody dodged every punch their opponent threw at them in the entire round, we would say they won the round, but if somebody defended every takedown in a round, we would probably say the opponent won the round (assuming nothing else happened in both cases)? Do you agree with that observation and if so what would explain it?

I was delighted to hear you talk about Agit Kabayel recently... I've been watching him for a while with interest. What are some his habits and techniques that would help him against Usyk and what are some limitations that might work against him?

Do you have any advice for safely entering the clinch against heavy punchers? When I try for the double collar tie, I find that I get dinged across the top since they start swinging. I’ve read your article on Tommy Loughran & watched the history episode on Jack Johnson recently, I tried out their jabbing into bicep ties which worked really well in Muay Thai.

Dear slacky claus Our boy Jack Della maddalena not only got held on the ground, but on the feet he had a hard time getting his striking going. If you’re a boxer type (I.E. lead foot heavy), in the vein of JDM and Ilia Topuria, who finds themselves getting chewed up with leg kicks; how do you adjust to deal with the leg kicks? I can remember Petr Yan switching to more of a Muay Thai stance against Aldo in the first round of their fight to better check the leg kicks. Thank you!

What are your thoughts on strikes to the chest? Is it worth jabbing somebody in the chest? I can’t remember where, but I’ve seen some people advise that striking the chest is great for bodywork off the back foot, since you don’t have to change levels too much which allows you to remain upright & mobile.

How would you coach a fighter ---who doesn't have a boa constrictor grip or nukes for fists--- to be a better finisher?

Hi slack, I've been doing muay thai for 3 years and after a trip to Thailand I really fell in love with foot sweeps (my training partners love me). It's all I've been working on, and tonight I'm scheduled to take my first judo class. I was wondering if you could talk about your history and progression through martial arts and what drew you to each discipline. Also, any fighters to watch that make interesting use of sweeps that maybe aren't talked about often? -The Merab Dvalishvili of performative and silly guillys

I saw a clip where an MMA fighters used a gut wrench to pull another fighter away from the cage. Do you think this will become more popular or don't or do you think letting people get to the fence and using mat returns will stay in vogue? Also can you re-share that clip of the 2 Russian fellowship using heaps of deep half guard and single legs. I have tried finding it but couldn't.

Lots of really good grappling instructionals out there, What’s a really good or interesting STRIKING instructional?

Dear Slacky, This year for Christmas, I want my heart to be unbroken and for Pantoja to get his title back. If that's not possible, then I want to know more about why good ground and pound is so hard to come by at ever level? PS, I am taking Muy Thai classes, and I wanted to know if you had any recs for silly/good shit I could try in sparring as a southpaw.

Dear Slacky, outside of watching your filthy casuals guide to Pitbull do you know of any resources on karate boxing?

Gordon Ryan has said that the ADCC rule set produces grappling skills most relevant for MMA. Do you agree with this? If so, do you think we will see a rise in grapplers due to the explosion in popularity of this rule set? We have seen that success in the IBJJF rule set does not translate well to MMA grappling.

Have you ever witnessed any use of philipino martial arts in competition? I find Kali and Escrima really interesting to watch, particularly for choreography but outside of a Kali fight or two on YouTube, I've not really seen much live use of either.

Dear Slacky, What's something the MMA META has lost that you think a fighter would have success going back to. What are some habits and techniques of past eras that could make a successful resurgence today.

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS: 1. Who’s your favorite current boxer to watch? 2. If Pantoja is out for the year do you see Van man holding onto the belt? 3. Whats the hardest matchup for bantamweight savior Pete Yan? 4. Have you tried Elden ring nightreign and how shite are you?

Eye-eye (my best Harry Waters impression), Jack. Would you possibly be willing to be a character witness at my upcoming voluntary manslaughter trial? What if I told you that I definitely didn't do it? Thanks! Edit: Favorite character from each of Yes, Minister and The Thick of It?

Thoughts on leglocks in amateur mma( no heel hooks allowed). Good fighters to study for attacking the body in the clinch. Also striking off your back or from scramble positions such as Ryan halls outside funk position

What instructionals are you watching these days?

Do you have some advice on getting cofidense back after losing by ko. I've recently lost my first serious amateur bout by head kick ko, leon kamaru style. Gone out for a minute, and lost memories of fight day. Now I'm struggling with a thought of compiting in future.

Is there anything in the study of physiology with mma. Less of the ‘tall man = kick-boxer” but more of your muscles or bones join at a certain point, you’d be great with a certain technique. There’s a lot made of people being natural at certain techniques, but surely there’s a mix of nuture (eg playing soccer from a young age) might make you better at kicking, and nature (ie having a long femur, flexible hip joint or whatever) Would be interesting to see if a fighter got themselves analysed in this regard and see if things like “Paul Craig can’t box” could be because his physiology is shit for it. Long question so probably the answer is equally long nuanced and boring, but it’s something I’ve always thought from when I was afflicted by a case of the Paul Craig’s when I did a small bit of kickboxing. Cheers

Asked this last time, and will to continue to ask: what are your go-to recommended instructionals for beginners in grappling?

It's another Masaaki Noiri question! How washed do you think he actually is? On the spectrum of washed fighters, do you think he's closer to Takeru's brand of washed, or is it more Holloway-esque?

I'm interested in learning striking, but want to do so in a way that minimizes the damage I would take. I trained briefly before, but the gym had a very meat headed, sink or swim approach to sparring. What defensive skills would you recommend a new striker focus on prior to sparring?

I feel like dana is making an effort to belittle fighters more and more. For example, him saying pantoja only popped his shoulder out when his arm snapped live on ppv (or saying aspinal could have continued after the eye poke). Why do you think this is? I think it's to make the audience more receptive to the ali act changes

Mr. Slack! What does an average day in your life look like? Are you holed up in a dark room all day watching fights or are you doing normal man things?

Oi Jack, Other than a good jab and/or a good teep (either lead or rear), what are some solid strikes a fighter can use to build up their offense at the start of a fight? Cheers

What up King. A lot is made of comically porous defense in MMA compared to boxing, l know part of it is having a lot more to worry about than just the other lads two hands but who do you think are some defensive stand outs(any striking sport) that aren’t just going for a jog? Dustin and Superbon come to mind and Ilia was amazing against Emmett but that’s all I can think of. Also is Yan by murder back?

Thoughts on using the nearside underhook from half guard in MMA, can it work into a GNP system? Also, do you believe high ground has a place to be used successfully in MMA?

hi jack! u frequently talk about using pressure and bodyshots to gas out opponents and force them to work in a striking context, but what are some grappling concepts or techniques that you can use to gas an opponent in a grappling context? Looking for advice as a shitty mma hobbyist and three stripe white belt bless

Best pivoting check hook in mma? Not the check hook in the style of Luke Rockhold where you lean back and rely upon your reach and timing, but the kind which puts you at a more advantageous angle. My suspicion is that the pivoting lead hook would be a great way for fighters to learn how to disengage from the clinch against the fence, but you rarely see it.

Petr's elbowing of Merab's forearms was super creative. Are there any other examples of title fights in which a fighter has had success doing something completely new?

Hi Slack, have you got any thoughts on Fabricio Andrade’s loss to Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in ONE Championship? Can you tell us why becoming a Korean TV fan favourite is the best base for MMA?

Long time slacky boi here. Are there any general heuristics for grappling as to striking. For example: In striking in an open stance matchup, generally you would want to circle around the lead foot so that your cross goes down the pipe faster.

Does Michael Morales genetics mog Islam in a hypothetical title fight, a la DDP’s meme run to the 185 belt, or do real skills and stuff actually matter in that matchup?

Hi jack. I've been training muay Thai for about 7 or 8 years. I also turn 40 next year, what's the best way to get the most out of my training without trying keep up with 22 year olds?

How does one go about making decisions during sparring/fighting? I always find myself freezing and becoming indecisive not knowing what path to take or what technique to use. Cheers, your boi shrimps

Thoughts on using the empty half guard as a postion to build to your hand and butt scoot to the fence to wall walk? Been doing it in training and works well when you cannot get the sweep

With Manel Kape getting a brilliant eyepoke TKO over Asu that one time, what are some other examples of phenomenal cheating for a win in MMA/combat sports?

Have you watched any of the Ultimate Self Defence Championship on Youtube? Any thoughts?

Oi oi Jack please talk about some body jabbers other than Floyd Mayweather please